Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-02-04
into the worlds life and law by making
first Of all his law and life our own.
Yours for God and home and every land,
FRANCES E. WILLARD, President.
CAROLINE B. BUELL., Cor. Sec'y.
WHISKY FIGURES.


The Difference In Its Effects Upon society
Between Buying Wheat and CONSUMING
1t and Purchasing Whisky and Drink
ing 1t.
In late issue was ON article entitled
Hard Times" by one who is "a prohibi-
ZIONIST, but in a dilemma" He says the
statement is made that the liquor traffic is q
constant drain on the wealth Of the world,
that all this money is wasted, and that he
he does not understand how the statement
can be true. will answer: The waste is
in buying the liquor for drink, and in
drinking it. Let me illustrate; 500, OOO,-
700 is the estimated drink bill Of the
United States each year. A has, $780,
100000; B has 100000, 600 bushels 81
wheat, worth 81 bushel. B sells his
wheat to A, and takes the money. Now,
suppose the assessor lists their property
for taxation; if listed at it's true value
in money, the aggregate wealth of A
and B would be $1,oCO, 100000. Now,
suppose the visit of the assessor should be
deferred one year after the trade was first
made by A and b. Under ordinary cir
cumstances b would have the money for
the wheat, with its accumulated interest;
but he finds that A no longer has the wheat,
ux>
and men in his employ have consumed
it as food. Now A has not got the wheat,
but he has the product of the labor Of
himself and his men, who by it's consump-
ton have been enabled to produce wealth
and property of two, three or four times
its original value, as the case may be.
This would be case Of productive con-
sumption, and the individual wealth of 4
and would, under ordinary circum-
stances, be greater than it was ut first, and
the State in which they lived would be able
to show an increase of wealth, for the
reason that A and B, two Of it's citizens,
had added to theirs,
Now suppose that A instead Of buying
wheat of B had bought whisky to the same
amount; 3 would have the money o. be-
fore. Now suppose A and bis men drink
the whisky Us they had eaten tie -four
produced from the wheat The whisky
did not furnish to A and his men either
blood, bone or muscle with which to labor.
1t dulled their intellect; under its influence
they had wrong notions Of industry. be-
came careless and Indifferent to hbor,
were forgetful and negligent Of matters Of
business, lost all habits Of industry, lost
morals and self-respect, lost power Of en-
durance, lost regard for themselves and
sane and q charge upon the public, lost
property, became criminals and had
to be restrained and punished at
the public expense, became panpers
and load for the public to carry and main
tain, were more often found in the gutter
than in the workshop, became poisoned in
body and weakened in mind, and wholly
untitled to produce wealth of any descrip-
ton, and utterly failing 70 do 30. What a
change has here resulted to individuals and
to the public! In the one case they bought
real food and ate it, and individual and
public wealth was increased; now they have
bought intoxicating liquors to drink, and
have drank them, and the individual pros
| perity of A and his men has Disappeared
and the public, that had right TO expect
help from A and his men in bearing Tx
burdens of government, find that burden
has been created instead of help. Here
then, in sharp contrast, is. q picture, Of Z,
destructive consumption.
Suppose B still holds his money, anG
has the 5000, 900, with accrued interes
| for the assessor. Let us send the Assessor
to A and see how much he will invoice
The whisky is not in his possession; it hat
been drank up; and what is the product O
its consumption? The assessor goes t,
AS house to inquire. A is not at home
away on spree. His family is in distress
poverty, and rags. There is nothing ther,
for taxation. Tell the assessor to go ant
hunt up AS men; send him to the grave,
yard first. Sixty thousand of them ar
dead; died on an average fifteen years eact
short Of their natural lives. Put down tn,
loss 6O.0O0x15-90O,0 900 years lost becaus,
they drank the whisky. The labor of thes.
dead men when sober was worth to them.
selves and to the aggregate wealth of tn.
State $500 per year:
Nine hundred years at $400--loss. $780,
| Now put down 2UO.UOO paupers and
criminals--made because they
drank the whisky-that have to
| be restrained and supported at
public expense Of 5000 apiece per
year, which makes. ............... 10000 90
Loss on the labor Of the 210,0OO per
| year, at $500 apiece ............... G0,0oh0O
| One hundred Thousand criminal
prosecutions, at an average OF $500
| One hundred Thousand criminal
| prosecutions, at an average OF 500